MONTPELIER - After a fierce battle with cancer, Alfred Solomon Waldstein passed away on Aug. 3, 2010 in Boston, Mass.

He is survived by three children, a brother, and countless friends and relatives.

Alfred (called Abe) was born in Boston in 1943 and spent much of his childhood in Brockton, Mass. Abe graduated from Johns Hopkins University in 1965, and in 1966 he volunteered for the Peace Corps. He spent two years teaching in a Togolese middle school, where he learned to speak excellent French, which he spoke fluently for the rest of his life. At the end of his Peace Corps service, Abe enrolled in the History Department at Stanford University, where he received an MA in African History. Following that, he moved to New York City, where he taught 7th grade social studies at a West Harlem junior high school. In the following years, Abe taught in the Anthropology Department at Phillips Exeter Academy where he met his wife, Sandra and they had a daughter, Molly. He then enrolled in the Anthropology Department at Columbia University, where he received a PhD in Anthropology. After returning to the United States, the family settled in New Hampshire and Abe worked for 4 years as a freelance consultant, mostly for USAID. His daughter, Arielle, was born in 1981. Abe later accepted a job working for USAID in Washington DC, and the family moved to northern Virginia. His son, Seth, was born in 1984. In 1986, Abe accepted a position as a practicing anthropologist at a firm in Burlington, where he worked for 15 years. His work brought him to many African countries, Pakistan, Bangladesh, China, Japan, Kazakhstan, Bulgaria, Israel, and the Middle East. His travels were too vast to enumerate. In the 1990's, Abe returned to freelance consulting, working and living in the Philippines, Vietnam and Armenia. Near the early part of the 21st century, he decided to switch careers and become a lawyer, and in 2007 he passed the California State Bar Exam. He returned to Vermont, which he loved dearly, and where he lived for the rest of his life. He continued his law office study for the next two years, and had been cleared to sit for the Vermont State Bar Exam in July of this year. Abe's cancer stymied him on the cusp of completing his career ambitions. For the three months following his diagnosis, his family and friends rallied around him and made his last months very joyful. He was delighted by everyone that came to visit and was grateful and appreciative of each person who arrived. We called it "Dad's Endless Party". The most important thing about Abe was his love of humanity. As a father, he taught his children tolerance, acceptance of cultural differences and unconditional love. He cared about people and was profoundly interested in their lives. He could speak intelligently and with great sensitivity to people from diverse backgrounds and viewpoints, and everyone that met him seemed to love him instantly. We are sorry that his endless party had to end. There are no words to express how deeply he will be missed.

A burial service followed by a memorial gathering will be held for Abe on Saturday, Aug 21.

The burial will be at 11 a.m. at the Green Mountain Cemetery in Montpelier. All who knew him are invited to attend.


Published in The Burlington Free Press on August 6, 2010